Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills

Changes from November 24, 2010 to July 7, 2014

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Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills

July 7, 2014
(RS22477)

A Representative who introduces a bill or other measure in the House is called its sponsor. Under House Rule XII, clause 7, several Members together may submit a bill, but the first-named Member is the chief or primary sponsor; the others are cosponsors. A bill can have only one primary sponsor.

Sponsorship of a Bill
Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of
House Bills
Betsy Palmer
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
November 24, 2010
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
RS22477
CRS Report for Congress
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress
Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills
Sponsorship of a Bill
Representatives introduce bills in the House chamber by placing them in the clerk’s “'s "hopper,” a
" a box at the rostrum, when the House is in session. The original signature of the sponsor mustappear on the measure when it is introduced. Cosponsors do not sign the bill; the sponsor needonly submit a list of names when the bill is dropped in the hopper. Cosponsors commonly ask thesponsors to add their names to a bill to signal support for the measure.1

Rule XII, clause 7(c) requires that sponsors provide a statement of constitutional authority at the time of introduction.2

Members typically sponsor bills they support. On occasion, a Representative may introduce a billas a courtesy, such as legislation proposed by the President or a senior Administration official. Insuch a case, the sponsor may designate the bill as introduced “"by request.”" As House Rule XII, clause 7(a)(5) states, “"When a bill or resolution is introduced ‘'by request,’' those words shall be entered on theJournal and printed in the Congressional Record.”
."
A sponsor may withdraw the measure he or she has placed in the hopper only until it receives anumber and is referred to committee. Once referred, neither the sponsor nor any cosponsor norany other Member may withdraw the bill, even by unanimous consent. The measure becomes theproperty of the House, and the House may act on it even if the sponsor resigns from the House, ordies.Cosponsorship of a BillRepresentatives may cosponsor a bill either at the time of its introduction or subsequently.Members whose names are submitted with a bill at the time of introduction are commonlyreferred to as “"original cosponsors.”" Once a bill has been introduced, Members may add theirnames as cosponsors until the bill has been reported from all the committees to which it isreferred (or been discharged from the committees).
until the committees have been discharged from further consideration of the bill).
The names of added cosponsors appear in the Congressional Record and in any subsequent printsof the bill. Sponsors and cosponsors of bills and amendments may be found by searching theLegislative Information System (LIS), CRS’'s online legislative resource.3 House Rule XIIprovides that a bill may be reprinted if 20 or more cosponsors have been added since the previousprinting, and the primary sponsor submits a written request for the Speaker to reprint the bill.A cosponsor may also have his or her name removed from a bill until the last committee ofreferral has reported it. For this purpose, either the cosponsor or the primary sponsor of the billmust request unanimous consent on the House floor.Rules governing the number of cosponsors permitted on a bill have changed over the years. From1967 to 1979, House rules limited the number of cosponsors to 25 per bill, requiring theintroduction of identical bills when the number of cosponsors exceeded 25. Since 1979, anunlimited number of cosponsors has been allowed. Private bills are prohibited from having
cosponsors.
Congressional Research Service
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Sponsorship and Cosponsorship of House Bills
Gaining Cosponsors
cosponsors.
Gaining Cosponsors
Supporters of a bill often seek cosponsors in hope of demonstrating its popularity and improvingits chances for passage. One of the most common techniques for soliciting support for a bill is the
“ "Dear Colleague”" letter, a mass mailing to selected or all Members. These letters are so calledafter the salutation with which they begin.No House rules or formal procedures govern “"Dear Colleague”" letters. They are, in effect, a
sponsor’ sponsor's advertisement for a bill (or, sometimes, an amendment). Typically, the letters brieflystate the issue the bill addresses, its major components, and its policy importance, and include anappeal to join as a cosponsor. Almost always, they carry the name and phone number of a staffaide to contact. A new system for distributing “"Dear Colleagues”" through the Internet was
implemented in the 110th Congress. (See CRS Report RL34636, “Dear Colleague” Letters:
Current Practices, by Jacob R. Straus.)
implemented in the 110th Congress.4Before a bill is formally introduced, a Member, or an aide acting at his or her direction, whowishes to become a cosponsor may contact the sponsoring Member’'s office and request that hisor her name be added to the bill. A form listing cosponsors is kept, usually by a staff aide, andsubmitted along with the bill at introduction. After the bill is introduced, a Member may alsocontact the sponsor’'s office and ask to be listed as a cosponsor. The sponsor decides when tosubmit these additional cosponsors to the House Clerk for publication in the Congressional
Record.
Author Contact Information
Betsy Palmer
Analyst on Congress and the Legislative Process
bpalmer@crs.loc.gov, 7-0381
Acknowledgments
Congressional Record.

Acknowledgments

This report was originally prepared by former CRS Specialist Richard C. Sachs. Please direct any inquiriesto the listed author.
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